Released in 1990
All My Trials
Written by : Traditional song
Last updated on April 9, 2025
Released in 1990
Written by : Traditional song
Last updated on April 9, 2025
Album This song officially appears on the All My Trials CD Single.
Timeline This song was officially released in 1990
This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:
From Wikipedia:
“All My Trials” was a folk song during the social protest movements of the 1950s and 1960s. It is based on a Bahamian lullaby that tells the story of a mother on her death bed, comforting her children, “Hush little baby, don’t you cry./You know your mama’s bound to die,” because, as she explains, “All my trials, Lord,/Soon be over.” The message — that no matter how bleak the situation seemed, the struggle would “soon be over” — propelled the song to the status of an anthem, recorded by many of the leading artists of the era.
The song is usually classified as a Spiritual because of its biblical and religious imagery. There are references to the “Lord,” “a little book” with a message of “liberty,” “brothers,” “religion,” “paradise,” “pilgrims” and the “tree of life” awaiting her after her hardships, referred to as “trials.” There is an allegory of the river Jordan, the crossing thereof representing the Christian experience of death as something which “…chills the body but not the soul.” The river/death allegory was popularised by John Bunyan in his classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress and the wording echoes the teaching of Jesus, to “…fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.” (Matthew 10:28)
Paul McCartney released a live version of this song – recorded in Milan on October 27, 1989 – on “Tripping The Live Fantastic – Highlights!” (the only track not appearing on the 2 CDs “Tripping The Live Fantastic“) but also as a single, which reached position #35 in the top 40 in the UK.
There's only one thing that money can't buy?
True love, that will never die
All my trials Lord, soon be over??
If religion was a thing that money could buy?
Well the rich would live and the poor would die?
All my trials, Lord, soon be over
Well, the river Jordan is chilly and cold?
Chills the body but not the soul
All my trials, Lord, soon be over?
All my trials, Lord, soon be over?
All my trials, Lord, soon be over
Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights!
Official live • Released in 1990
3:14 • Live • L1
Paul McCartney : Guitar, Producer, Vocals Linda Eastman / McCartney : Backing vocals, Keyboards Robbie McIntosh : Backing vocals, Guitar Hamish Stuart : Backing vocals, Bass Paul Wickens : Backing vocals, Keyboards Chris Whitten : Drums Matt Butler : Remixing Peter Henderson : Producer Bob Clearmountain : Mixing engineer, Producer
Concert From the concert in Milan, Italy on Oct 27, 1989
CD Single • Released in 1990
3:14 • Live • L1
Paul McCartney : Guitar, Producer, Vocals Linda Eastman / McCartney : Backing vocals, Keyboards Robbie McIntosh : Backing vocals, Guitar Hamish Stuart : Backing vocals, Bass Paul Wickens : Backing vocals, Keyboards Chris Whitten : Drums Matt Butler : Remixing Peter Henderson : Producer Bob Clearmountain : Mixing engineer, Producer
Concert From the concert in Milan, Italy on Oct 27, 1989
12" Single • Released in 1990
3:14 • Live • L1
Paul McCartney : Guitar, Producer, Vocals Linda Eastman / McCartney : Backing vocals, Keyboards Robbie McIntosh : Backing vocals, Guitar Hamish Stuart : Backing vocals, Bass Paul Wickens : Backing vocals, Keyboards Chris Whitten : Drums Matt Butler : Remixing Peter Henderson : Producer Bob Clearmountain : Mixing engineer, Producer
Concert From the concert in Milan, Italy on Oct 27, 1989
CD Single • Released in 1990
3:14 • Live • L1
Paul McCartney : Guitar, Producer, Vocals Linda Eastman / McCartney : Backing vocals, Keyboards Robbie McIntosh : Backing vocals, Guitar Hamish Stuart : Backing vocals, Bass Paul Wickens : Backing vocals, Keyboards Chris Whitten : Drums Matt Butler : Remixing Peter Henderson : Producer Bob Clearmountain : Mixing engineer, Producer
Concert From the concert in Milan, Italy on Oct 27, 1989
7" Single • Released in 2022
3:14 • Live • L1.2022 • 2022 remaster
Paul McCartney : Guitar, Producer, Vocals Linda Eastman / McCartney : Backing vocals, Keyboards Robbie McIntosh : Backing vocals, Guitar Hamish Stuart : Backing vocals, Bass Paul Wickens : Backing vocals, Keyboards Chris Whitten : Drums Matt Butler : Remixing Peter Henderson : Producer Alex Wharton : Remastering Bob Clearmountain : Mixing engineer, Producer
Concert From the concert in Milan, Italy on Oct 27, 1989
Unofficial live
3:50 • Soundcheck
Concert From the concert in Fukuoka, Japan on Nov 18, 1993
Arizona Soundchecks 1990 Cactus Club Arizona 1986
Unofficial live • Released in 1993
6:21 • Soundcheck
Concert From the concert in Tempe, USA on Apr 04, 1990
Tripping The Live Fantastic - Ultimate Archive Collection
Unofficial live • Released in 2016
3:26 • Live
1990 • For Paul McCartney • Directed by Nigel Dick
1990 • For Paul McCartney • Directed by Nigel Dick
Concert Dec 14, 1990 in London
“All My Trials” has been played in 2 concerts and 8 soundchecks.
Dec 14, 1990 • UK • London • BBC Television Centre • TV show
Oct 27, 1989 • Part of The Paul McCartney World Tour
Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 2) 1990-2012
This new book by Luca Perasi traces Paul McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1990 to 2012 in the form of 250 song entries, filled with details about the recordings, stories behind the sessions and musical analysis. His pop albums, his forays into classical and avant-garde music, his penchant for covering old standards: a complete book to discover how these languages cross-pollinate and influence each other.
The second volume in a series that has established itself as a unique guide to take the reader on a journey into the astonishing creativity of Paul McCartney.
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